I Bimbi e Le Stelle
by Italianissima
Summary: Corrections of typos have been made. Sorry if the format looks messy. Be careful with what you wish for! Omi and Nagi wished for something and the results were big impacts for their teammates! This is a non-yaoi fic. Contains may be considered as spoilers


Disclaimer: Weib Kreuz does not belong to me, instead to its creators

Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz is copyright of Takehito Koyasu and Project Weiss. This fanfic was written for entertainment purposes and has non financial advantages on me. 

Warning: Contains of what may be considered as spoilers from the anime episodes, such as Omi's past and the other Weiss members. Non yaoi.

I Bimbi e Le Stelle

[Babies and Stars]

_by **[Italianissima][1]**_

He saw celestial blue, tinted with yellow. There were trickles of white, hazy and soft. He sensed fresh aqua even though it was dry. The breeze brought to him sensations of freshness. He smelled green and gray. Mix of steel and rocks and organics and nature stung his nose. More than that, he felt tranquility; deep and hollow, both piercing and soothing. Loneliness and peace rolled into one. Do they even understand? 

Wonder what they're doing, Omi Tsukiyono thought in his mind of his friends. In times like these, he couldn't help daydreaming or thinking. In fact, he felt like he had become a philosopher lately due to the amount of thinking he had been doing. With practically no one to share stories with, he often found himself talking to another personality inside of him. 

It wasn't boredom. Sure, the activities of being an assassin with Weib had been suspended for an undefined length of time; enemies gone and no need for killing machines. It was time for Weib to relax, as in pack-your-bags-and-go-on-vacation, until Kritiker had come up with a mission for them to do. 

However, deep inside he felt empty. He _had_ been doing what he wanted to do. He had been vacationing in his own way; doing things he hadn't had time to do before. Studying in groups with friends, spending time in the library to read books and, most importantly, designing his own J-pop website were all fun but… they wore off after a while. His teammates were all lucky, according to him, because they knew what they did what they wanted to do and having a good time because of it. While he…

Actually, Omi felt proud of all of his teammates. Ran Fujimiya and his sister Aya who had woken up from a long coma found a job in a foreign company, originated in Australia. With his calculating mind and hard-working attitude no wonder Ran had a successful job as a staff in the financial department of that company. His sister, on the other hand, was the finance manager's secretary. They both always wanted to travel together, having a family vacation. The chance came when their boss asked them to come with him for a business trip around Asia. He couldn't afford losing their assistances and they couldn't afford refusing the offer. So off they went. 

Ken Hidaka was another story. Being the soccer player that he was, he couldn't help getting involved in the sport once again. He coached a team for kids and often brought them to J-league games. One afternoon in a certain big match, the little kids asked him to explain what was going on in the game. He began to act as their commentator. At a nearby seat was a radio show programmer. After the game the programmer approached Ken and asked him if he were interested in conducting a sports talk show on the radio. He couldn't disagree to do it, of course. His show was a blast. Guys loved debated about the sports with him and girls loved gushing over his "sexy radio voice", so they said. Thanks to this he was also promoted to become a soccer commentator for when there was a match broadcast on the radio. He still coached the kids. Because of his two jobs now he was able to live in his own apartment. 

Youji Kudou, whom Omi thought didn't have a single life orientation at all, was doing pretty good on his own. A friend of his had a nightclub and Youji helped him run the place. Now he had held some shares in the club and was also earning money as a bartender. The bar was always full. Girls _and_ guys loved seeing his skills with bottles, mixers and glasses. Who would have thought that Youji had that kind of skills? What more, to his liking, girls flung to him! He was seeing more girls than he ever could before. Sometimes Youji slept in the quarters of the club or to in one of the girls' house, whoever he was seeing at the moment, so he didn't return to the shop.

Omi felt lonely because of this. In school, he was usually studying all the time because he wanted to get into the university of his dreams. At home, he was usually in front of the computer. He ate dinner alone and rarely spoke to anyone. Truthfully… this began to frustrate him.

CRASH!!!

"What the…?" Omi spat. He quitted thinking of the careers of his friends and scurried off downstairs where the sounds were coming from. 

Youji had just entered what used to be a flower shop/Weib headquarters. Apparently he tripped off the floor and in the process of falling hit the chair and now the chair, the boxes he had been carrying and its contents sprawled all over the floor alongside with his body. The box seemed to be the cause of why he fell like that. 

"Youji-kun!" Omi said. "We're going to lose chairs if you keep doing that."

"Sorry, Omi. This box is too heavy," Youji apologized as he picked himself up the floor. He looked around and saw the mess he made. 

"What are you doing here?" Omi was wondering. Youji rarely came home nowadays and even if he did it was usually early morning and during weekdays, not weekends. This was a weekend and almost 5 o'clock in the afternoon. He should be preparing the club for tonight or having a date or something. 

Youji yawned. "I am so sleepy. There was a problem last night. Two of the visitors in the club brawled and I had to be the one to separate them. They got me on the ribs and my friend told me to go to the hospital to have it checked. Now I am bandaged and told to have a boring rest. Tonight I am off duty, then. I thought I'd come back and check on you. So how are you?"

Omi smiled. Finally he would have some company tonight. Tonight he didn't have to eat dinner alone or spend the evening talking to people on the Internet. He would have a real-life chat partner. He didn't know what he could possibly talk about with Youji – his best friend in Weib was Ken – but at least he had company. Perhaps even he could think up of a story of a girl that he liked in school so that he could pretend to ask Youji for advice on making moves for this girl. Youji would know a lot on that matter. 

"I am fine, Youji," Omi said cheerfully.

Youji stared at him and then furrowed his eyebrows. Skeptically he asked, "Are you sure? I see dark circles under your eyes? You haven't been sleeping or what?"

Omi shrugged. The truth was, yes he hadn't been sleeping properly. If he slept, he would have to be in his room, alone, with nothing to do and it would lead to him thinking about his life and envying his friends' new lives. It was a depressing thing to do. So rather than do that, he usually studied up until late at night or do something with the computers – updating his website, downloading MP3s or playing games.

From his silence, Youji knew already the answer. He said to him worriedly, "It's not healthy, Omi, to do that. You must sleep. Where will you get energy for school?"

"I get energy for school," Omi defended himself. "I am doing fine at school."

"How are your studies?" Youji asked.

"Fine. I am taking A-level mathematics so that I can understand better the calculations for computer designs. I want to design my own computer as the final project in school. I also joined some clubs," Omi answered. 

"Good, good," Youji mumbled. He was still furrowing his eyebrows. How come, if Omi had a lot to do, that kid had a stressed look on his face? Finally he brushed away the thought.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Omi asked.

"Get some sleep. Wake me up for dinner, will you?" 

"Yes!" Omi chirped. It would have been perfect if Ran and Ken were there too, he thought. They could have their usual laughter and conversations once again. Well, Omi said full of satisfaction, you'll just have to make do with one friend then. Anything was better than nothing.

While he was preparing dinner, Omi heard the bells of the shop at the front rang. He suddenly realized he had forgotten to lock the front door. Anyone could have entered. So he left the pots and pans and dashed to the shop. He almost stumbled off the stairs but managed to maintain his balance. He then saw the guest. It was a young woman, around Youji's age, with red hair, darker than Ran's though, and trendy clothes. She was beautiful. Omi wondered who she was.

"Yes?" was all Omi could say.

The woman looked at him. She asked almost desperately, "Is Youji here? I looked for him at the club but he was not there. They told me he came back here."

"Yes, he is here. Who are you? I can tell him you're here…"

"No need, Omi," Youji's voice suddenly interrupted. He was already there, surprisingly in his pajamas. "I am here." To the woman, he smiled and asked, "Yes, Shizuka? What brings you here, darling?"

Wide eyed with concern, the woman named Shizuka said, "I need to talk to you."

"Then talk, I am already here," Youji said. He approached her and embraced her. "You look worried. What's the matter?"

"Youji," she said, now sounding very desperate, "I am… I'm… pregnant. It's yours."

Silence. After a few seconds, Youji turned to Omi, his face expressionless, and said, "Can you leave us for a while?" Omi nodded and with face full of confusion left. The next thing he knew, he was already back in the kitchen. He was immobilized, though. The thing he had just heard from the woman was so surprising. Youji's baby? Wow. That was something. He couldn't believe it. Youji, a father? Unbelievable. He wasn't even brotherly to Omi, unlike Ken to him or Ran to Aya-chan. Now he was going to be father?

Omi smirked then. He was cheering for Youji. If Youji were to be the father of this baby that would make Omi… an uncle!!! He was laughing for himself. He knew he didn't have blood relations with Youji but at least he was close enough to Youji to consider his child a nephew. Maybe he could also offer to Shizuka, that woman, to become babysitter of their baby! He didn't have to be alone anymore! He'd have more human company!!! Whistling cheerfully at this idea, he began to cook again. He was so happy that he even ignored the sounds that were coming down from downstairs.

Oblivious to what happened between them, Omi was astonished to see Youji didn't look like the happiest of fathers-to-be when he joined him in the kitchen, just a few minutes after his young teammate finished cooking. Omi wondered what could be the problem? Could Shizuka have refused to join him and Omi for dinner and it was upsetting Youji to be away from the mother of his child?

Nonetheless… "Youji-kun," Omi called, "I am happy for you. Congratulations." He smiled. "You will be a good father."

Youji stared at Omi and then mumbled something that sounded like "damn". Then he looked away. Omi asked him again nicely, "Youji-kun, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Omi," Youji replied. He sighed. "Don't get your hopes up, Omi. The baby is not going to be mine in the end."

"What do you mean?" Omi asked. No, rather, he _demanded_.

"I mean, I am not the father of the baby," Youji said flatly. He started to light up a cigarette and began huffing and puffing.

Horror. Omi's eyes were wide in it. "What do you mean?" his tone was rising.

Probably it was his tone that irritated Youji that he began raising his voice too. "What do you mean by that? That's that. The baby is not mine!"

"How come?" Omi asked. "The girl said it was yours! How can you be sure it's not yours? She's the mother. She should know." 

Youji snorted. "Mine? Like hell. Not in a million years. Shizuka is just as irritating as kids are."

Omi frowned. He didn't like it when Youji was acting like this. He disliked it even more when Youji continued, "As long as you know, Omi, I may be a playboy but I wouldn't go that far as to impregnate someone outside marriage. Shizuka had other partners other than me. She slept with many people and on top of all she is already engaged to someone else. The baby could've been anyone's. You are wrong to think that I am the father of the baby."

"Youji!" Omi couldn't stand it anymore. "How could someone lie about a baby? It's not something to joke about! The least you could do is…"

"What? Console her? Ask her to marry me? Become a father? You are so naïve! I am unwilling, Omi. It's better not to have a father at all than to have one who is unwilling." He turned a sharp look on Omi and said, "You of all people should know about it."

That did it for Omi. Omi dropped the pan to the sink and started retorting harshly to Youji, "Shut up! Don't talk to me like that!"

Youji looked indifferent. "Why? I am only telling you the truth. This world is not all about sugar, spice and everything nice, kid."

"Even a donkey knows that, Youji," Omi hissed. "But you can't just throw away someone who is having a baby!"

"It's not _my_ baby," Youji said with dead finality. 

A long silence followed their heated conversation. Somehow Omi felt angry with Youji. He was disappointed, raged and insulted. The first was because he expected his friend to be responsible and he didn't, the second because he hated the way his friend spoke to him and the third because his friend had mentioned the taboo of his past. On top of all, he was irritated beyond reason because this whole thing had ruined his idea of a perfect, friendly night. 

With force, Omi yanked away the apron that was still tied to his neck and waist, threw it away to the floor and stalked out of the room, leaving Youji alone to sit on the table and smoke his cigarette also in anger. Not so long afterwards, he was already down the stairs. Even a shorter moment than before, Youji could hear the slamming of the door. Hell.

_ _

---------------

He saw rich, royal blue, in harmony with the forceful black. Minuscule taints of gold and pale he glimpsed. He felt freezing glass even though it was supposedly warm. The wind brought him sensations of tears. He smelled nothing. Nothing. More than anything, he felt emptiness. It was so empty that it filled his heart like an overflowed sink flooding to the floors beneath. Do they even understand?

_ _

"Someone is out late tonight," a voice said behind him.

Omi turned around. He was in the middle of staring straight ahead to the great dark when the voice greeted him. He knew that voice somewhere. Indeed, when he saw the owner of the voice, he assured himself that he knew it all right. The voice belonged to Nagi Naoe, his ex-nemesis counterpart in the group Schwarz. The saying "fighting like cats and dogs" didn't apply to Weib and Schwarz. Cats and dogs, if they grew up together since childhood, could be friends in the end. Weib and Schwarz, no matter what, would never be friends. 

However, Omi and Nagi had never been too hateful towards each other. In fact, Omi and Nagi had become quite friendly to each other since they found out that they were in the same school. Omi's level was higher though; he was already on the last year of school while Nagi was a year below him. They didn't talk much to each other, especially because they had their own circle of friends, but when they passed each other in the hall or corridor or the school gate, they would say hello or smile a little to each other. Now that Weib and Schwarz didn't exist any longer, they could stop the enmity as they wanted.

"Nagi." That was all Omi felt like saying. 

Nagi, whose height and features were not much different from Omi's except for hair color, approached him. He was cool, calm and collected as usual. Omi's eyes followed him as he came nearer and nearer to the railings of the bridge on his side. He stopped next to him, leaning forward on the fence. Omi did the same. At the same time, they both folded their arms and rested them on the barrier.

"What are you doing here?" Nagi asked. Him starting the conversation was a great surprise to Omi. He thought Nagi was too quiet for his own good.

"I needed fresh air," Omi answered. "You?"

"The same."

"What's your problem?"

"You wouldn't be interested."

"Aren't you supposed to be studying right now? Don't you have a test on Monday?"

"How did you know?" Omi asked Nagi. 

"I was sick on Wednesday and couldn't do the mathematics test in Mr. Fukuyama's class. He told me to catch up on it on Monday, with your class. He said your class had a test too. This way, he could watch over me while he's watching your class." He sighed. "I suggest you go home and study so that you would get good marks."

"I don't care about good marks. As long as I can pass the class, I am happy enough," Omi said.

Nagi tittered. "That's the first time I heard about someone from class 3-A who isn't so ambitious that he would commit suicide on the first sight of B on their exam papers."

Omi remembered the case in their school that happened a month ago. His classmate, Mina, committed suicide just because she was afraid to face her parents after getting a B- for English. She was a top student and the best in the class. When she died, everyone guessed that she was highly frustrated because of the pressure the teachers and her parents put on her to be the best. This was the case, actually, and Omi couldn't help feeling sorry for her. A few days afterwards, another student from his class threatened to jump out of the window if ever he had a B mark for physics. Since then, Omi decided that it was stupid and didn't force himself too hard on grades. He just wanted to pass and get into the university. That was all.

"I am not like them," Omi said.

"Of course you are not like them," Nagi sighed. "You and I are different. We are too mature, know too much of life, to be thinking of silly things such as suicide."

Nagi was right. Omi and Nagi had grown up beyond their age. Their concerns were not about having crushes on classmates or about being angered by their parents or teachers. They were concerned about assassinations and weapons and blood. They had seen and felt enough deaths of their more loved ones so that the death of a classmate wouldn't matter that much compared to the previous ones. Other things seemed little compared to what they had experienced. 

But a little voice in Omi's heart was forcing him to think of something else. Was it better this way, knowing everything and feeling the hurt of it, or was it better another way, oblivious of everything and be completely ignorant of life? Was it better to know and be saddened of all the deaths around you or was it better to die yourself so that you could make a new start as another human being, completely innocent and ignorant of all the revolting things life had to offer even though it matured you? What was better? 

Suddenly Omi wanted to know. He asked the question to the person nearest to him. "Nagi, don't you think it would be better if we just die and make a brand new start as another person who is immature and completely ignorant of all the disgusting things in life so that we couldn't be hurt?"

Startled, Nagi turned to face Omi. "What? You think that way?"

"It just popped in my mind," Omi confessed.

Nagi returned his gaze back to the watery sight in front of them and thought about it. The thinking alone needed 10 minutes. Finding the way to express his opinions for Omi's thought took another 3. So some 13 minutes later, he spoke again. "I think… you have a point. Maybe… it's better."

That was all Omi needed for an answer. He just needed assurance. He shifted his gaze up to the sky above. He wanted to count stars now while considering the chances of him becoming innocent again. He wasn't much of a genius in math compared to Kotaro, another classmate, but he surely knew the result of his calculations. It was nil.

As if to cheer him up, suddenly he saw a falling star. "Hey, look!" he exclaimed excitedly. 

"What?" Nagi replied.

"Over there! Look!!! A falling star!!! Look at the way it shoots down!!! WOW! I thought I'd never see one!"

Nagi became as excited as Omi was. Chirping, the younger boy said, "Quick, make a wish! It'll come true!!!"

"Really? I didn't know that before."

"I heard it somewhere… in a movie, I think. Come on, let's wish!!!"

Both of them closed their eyes almost simultaneously, shut them tight and while their hands were gripping the railings, they voiced their wish inside their head and hearts. 

_I wish for innocence._

After that they opened their eyes in an instant and saw that the falling star had disappeared. Omi and Nagi stared at each other, looking dazed of what they had just done. Suddenly, they laughed.

"Fun, huh?" Nagi said, chuckling.

"Yeah!" 

Nagi's face turned serious but when he looked back at Omi, he had this playful smile on his face. "Which do you prefer? Making wishes with a genie like Aladdin or like that, the way we had just done it?"

Omi tilted his head to the side and thought of an answer. He finally said, "I like the one with the genie better. I can have three and they will come true in an instant."

Nagi debated him. "But don't you think genies can be unreliable? Shooting stars are more trustworthy!"

"Genies do tend to joke but… seriously, it's more convenient if we get a good genie!" Omi said.

"I suppose," Nagi gave in.

Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of two pretty women walking together towards them. One of them was a redhead and the other was a dark brunette. They were both sensual in different ways. Either way, they were familiar faces to Omi and Nagi. 

"Omi, Nagi, this is very late! What are you two doing here?" the redhead asked in surprise. This was Manx, an agent whose job was as a liaison officer for Weib and their ex-boss, the late Persia. Since the activities for Weib had been discontinued, she worked independently, taking cases that were only of her interest from the agency Kritiker.

"You can't be sick. Go home, warm yourselves up and take care! A mission is coming up next week and we don't want you to be sick," the dark brunette said. This was Birman, of course. She, too, was a liaison officer for Weib, connecting them to Kritiker who employed them after Persia's death. She was still doing that up until Weib's activities were discontinued.

"What? A mission?" Omi asked. Now that he hadn't been on a mission for a long time, the thought of having to search and destroy or hunt and kill churned his stomach extremely. 

Nagi answered for him. "We are assigned to work together next week."

If the news about Youji having a baby didn't surprise him enough, this surely did. He snapped his head and turned to look at the youngest member of Schwarz. "What?"

Manx and Birman exchanged looks. They both understood that Omi hadn't known anything about this. Manx turned to Birman and asked, "Should I explain or would you take the honor of doing that?" Her partner's reply was a shrug. She looked more nervous than Manx.

"Omi," Manx said softly, "We never got to tell you before so now it's time you know. Schwarz works for Kritiker now. Brad Crawford and Nagi Naoe, the only two members of Schwarz left after that last fight, had joined us. Since Ran and Ken are… well, they have their own new lives now… so Youji and you will have new partners. They are, of course, Brad and Nagi."

If Omi was surprised before, he was shocked and staggered now. He was to team up with Schwarz? He was supposed to do a mission? Ken and Ran were not going to come back until they had to be replaced by Schwarz? What kind of life was this? What kind of God was up there? Why did he receive fate like this?

Seeing the change of expression in Omi's face from wide-eyed to pale and cold, Manx and Birman became more tensed and nervous. Nagi kept his cool but it could be easily seen that he was actually tensing his muscles. Omi stared at the other three people around him and took a step backwards. 

"Omi…" Birman called.

Gulping, Omi asked them, "So… Ken and Ran are not coming back?"

Manx and Birman once again exchanged looks. This time it was Birman who answered him. "They gave in their resignation requests this morning. We were about to…"

Manx quickly said, "They plan to tell you tomorrow morning after Kritiker had approved of their resignations. Omi, you must understand…"

Omi stared at them in disbelief for a while before he finally ran away, first taking backwards steps and finally turning around completely, backing away from the Kritiker agents and Nagi. Manx and Birman simultaneously shouted his name but he didn't care. He just kept running and running until he didn't have to see them anymore.

He arrived at the park. It was a long run from the bridge to the park but he managed to do it. Catching his breath, Omi dropped himself to the grass below. It was nighttime so there was less oxygen from the trees around him. He felt suffocated, which was more caused by grief and anger. He wanted to cry but he couldn't find the tears. He wanted to scream but couldn't find the voice. He wanted to die but the angels hadn't come to pick him up yet. Instead he was forced to be Angel of Death once again…

"Mission… damn mission. I am not going to do it!"

"Then how will you live?" a voice asked him.

Omi cursed. Enough surprises already for him that night! When he turned to see who it was, he finally wasn't surprised anymore. It was Nagi. Omi just stared at him for a while before turning his face away. He could hear Nagi sigh. 

"I know how you feel, Omi," Nagi said.

"What are you talking about?" his counterpart retorted harshly.

"I know you are disappointed. Ken and Ran had the freedom to leave. They have already their new lives and you feel like they are abandoning you, leaving you behind. You want to be like them. You want to have a new life. You want to start over like they did but you can't because you don't know how and if you do you still would have to find another job that pays you equally well so that you can also live. You think life is tough and you envy Ken and Ran, perhaps even Youji, for enjoying their lives."

Omi was quiet. He didn't reply so Nagi continued, "If there is someone else who understands what you feel then it is me. I am young, like you, even younger. It hit me, struck me, that my job is an assassin. How did you think I feel when Schuldig and Farfarello died? I wanted to die with them. When I see Crawford living his new life the way Ken and Ran did, I also wanted to be like him. But I can't… because I am still young. We don't have their options. We are young but we are also old. Our jobs turned us this way. We didn't and still don't have any options."

This was it for Omi. He stood up and bellowed, "Then why the hell can't we have an option?! Why is it, just because of our ages, we can't have a choice? Why must we grow up before our time?! Why did we have to kill?! Why do we have to be the ones to assassinate people _again_?! Why can't we leave this world of murders?"

Nagi wasn't intimidated by Omi's tone. He replied simply, "The answer I am also looking for."

Omi shook his head and started to back away again. As he left, he said, "Dying would have been better."

_ _

------------------------

_ _

_White. It wasn't the sky. Flat. It wasn't the earth. Cold. It wasn't the wind. Wet. It wasn't the water. Guilty. Anxious. Forlorn._

_ _

Youji woke up with a start. His heart was racing. His body was sweating all over. His head was aching. It took some minutes from him to realize that he was still in his room. He was going crazy. All because of that nightmare he had.

It had been a great labyrinth, the one in his dream. He was running. He was trying to find Ran, Ken and Omi but he found none of them. At one _cul-de-sac_, he saw Shizuka and her original fiancé. They were holding a baby and looked at Youji with a sneering look. Youji quickly ran away. A dark shadow followed him as he ran. The shadow caught him. He tripped and fell into an endless hole. He hit the ground hard and when he woke up he was in a pool of blood. Floating on it was another baby. He knew it was his. He reached for it but was too late because then the both of them sunk. 

Youji wiped his face with his hands and kicked open the covers. He took his towel and some pieces of clothing to the bathroom. As he passed the corridor on his way, he saw that the room that was Omi's had an open door. Youji peeked inside. There was no one inside. The bed covers were still neat. Youji began to wonder if Omi returned or not since he walked out on him yesterday. 

Youji began to worry now. Yesterday's fight with Omi was unnecessary but they had done it anyway. After Omi left, Youji was eaten by guilt. He shouldn't have lost his temper in an argument with Omi. He just had a bad day and he had taken out all his emotions to innocent Omi, the one who didn't know anything and the one who was very lonely. Of course he had noticed how Omi felt. He knew he was lonely. Who wouldn't be when he lived at the Koneko shop alone without company most of the time? Sure, he was also at school most of the time but Youji knew Omi ate dinner alone, woke up alone and went to bed alone. If it had been someone else, not Omi, he or she might have already committed suicide because of the loneliness. Thankfully, this was Omi. Omi was strong.

Or was he? Youji was beginning to doubt it. He hadn't really checked up on Omi lately. He was cheerful when he greeted him yesterday but was he really as happy as he appeared to be? Who knew? Youji wanted to know because he cared for Omi.

Ken and Ran also cared for Omi but in the end they left anyway. Youji wanted to strangle his ex-teammates for leaving like that but he knew he couldn't complain. He was about to leave as well… the only thing holding him back was his concern for Omi. He didn't want Omi to be alone, especially when he was still officially attached to Kritiker. Omi couldn't and shouldn't go to a mission alone… what more now they were teamed up with Brad Crawford and Nagi Naoe from Schwarz. Youji had to be there, to protect Omi.

He knew Omi hated to be protected because to Omi it meant that they were considering him a child. But the truth was, he was still a child. He was only 16. He was so young, yet forced to be old beyond his time. Youji pitied him secretly. At least he had his childhood peacefully and teenage life in a fun way. But Omi? He didn't have any of them. 

Youji shook his head away from thoughts of Omi. He really shouldn't get sentimental about this. If he did, he would start prying Omi when he saw him later and Omi would take it as Youji minding too much of his business. He switched to other thoughts. Unfortunately, the other thought was not a happy one either. He thought of Shizuka and the baby. 

He knew perfectly well that the baby wasn't his. When he went to bed with a woman, he was always protected. He might be a lecher but he was responsible. Being an assassin and not being responsible at the same time was a dangerous thing. So he decided a long time ago that responsibility should be one of his priorities. But he also pitied Shizuka. That poor girl was going to meet trouble from her parents. She was still young… but engaged. Her family and the guy's family both were from respectable old names. If they found out Shizuka was with child… Youji didn't know what they were going to do about it.

Maybe it would've been nice to have a baby too. Maybe… Youji did plan to become a father but he didn't know how. He hadn't even met the woman of his dreams. There was Manx, of course, but that redhead was unreachable… ever. It was just as impossible as him being a father. What would he teach his son? The use of thin wired strings? Highly unlikely.

Youji entered the bathroom and quickly took a bath. It was a record. He finished the bath in less than 10 minutes. After that, he quickly went downstairs to check on Omi. He had an idea of where the kid was. He must be in the backroom. Last night he must have been carried away in one of his computing activities that he fell asleep there. 

He began to worry again when there was no one in front of the computer. The room was so quiet that it gave him the creeps. But then he suddenly saw a pile of light-colored clothing on the couch there. Furrowing his eyebrows, Youji walked towards the sofa to see whose it was. When he finally got a close look he recognized the clothes immediately as to being Omi's. Youji stared at it, blinking. What were Omi's clothes doing there without Omi inside it? 

A thought crossed Youji's mind that made him blink even more. What if… Omi had taken off his clothes during an intercourse with a woman? An image of Omi making love with a woman appeared in his head. Youji shrieked and then shook his head violently. No way! 

Finally, he was able to get rid of that crazy thought. He began to collect Omi's clothes off from the sofa. Perhaps a bit of Ran's influence had got into him. He was disgruntled to see clothes spread untidily on the sofa. When he was about to pick up Omi's clothes, however, he felt something heavy keeping it down. Youji tugged on it and when he did, suddenly a loud cry broke.

"What the…?" 

Youji dumped the rest of the outfit he was holding on his hand to the floor and dug into the T-shirt. To his utter shock, there was…

"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!"

-------------------------

Ken, Birman and Manx arrived at the same time. They didn't waste time on greetings and headed straight to the backroom. They also entered the room together, jamming the doorway. Ken backed off and let the two women enter first before he did. When they were already in the room together, their eyes widened and stared in awe as they saw Youji sitting on the sofa… holding a baby in his arms and singing a lullaby.

Youji turned his head just in time to see their astonished expressions. His face brightened instantaneously. "You're here!!!" He had frantically called each and every one of them to come after he found the baby.

"Youji! What is that?" Ken asked.

"You stupid fool! Of course it's a baby!" Youji snapped. "Don't just stand there and look at me as if I am crazy… help me put this baby back to sleep! He's been crying and slobbering all over me!"

Ken immediately approached Youji and glanced at the baby. Ken gasped when he saw the baby. He was most familiar – round face, cuddly cheeks, pouty lips, soft blondish hair and big blue eyes… it was…

"OMI?!?!?!?" Ken practically screamed. The baby started crying again and Youji saw it fit to hit Ken on the shoulder.

Finally Manx and Birman made a move. Incredulous they drew near Youji, Ken and the so-called baby Omi. They hated to admit it but the baby was incredibly alike to Omi. They just knew it was he! Omi! Who could mistake those big blue eyes and the shapely lips? They were just so "Omi". 

Manx's head started spinning. She had to sit down. She knew this was Omi but she didn't want to believe it. She had taken a liking to Omi instantly the moment she met him and he had always been her favorite Weiss member because he was just so kind and gentle, unlike the older ones in the group. She had great sympathy for him because of his unhappy past. She saw him more as a younger brother than an associate. Last night when Omi looked so miserable after she told him about the mission she had wanted to run to him and hug him tightly in her arms to show him that she cared a lot about him and that she understood how he felt. But now… where had the old Omi gone?

"Oh my God… this is really Omi," Birman said. Her voice was shaking. She too had started to feel dizzy and queasy.

"How did this happen?" Ken asked. "Where did the chibi Omi come from?"

Youji snorted. "Chibi? This is not a chibi! This is a _baby_. Geez!"

Ken turned to Manx and Birman. "He wasn't a victim of a Masafumi Takatori wannabe, was he? Might he have been transformed into becoming a baby?" Ken asked them suspiciously.

"They haven't even gone to the mission yet!!!" Birman said.

Manx couldn't stand it. "OMI!!! What happened to my Omi?!?!??!"

"Your Omi? Since when did you own him?" Youji protested. "Omi is mine! Ours! Weiss'! Not yours!"

Manx retorted. "Hah! How can you even say that? You haven't been around for him! He was lonely! He needed company! But you were always in that club of yours while you know he was alone without no one to talk to!!!"

"Well, have you had the initiative to take care of him while none of us was around?! NO! You haven't been there for him either!" Youji said angrily.

"Stop, stop! Don't fight! We have to do something about this! We have to return Omi to become the way he is!!!" Ken said. He paused and then corrected himself. "The way he _was_. Past tense. Hmm… I am confused. Should I be using present or past tense?"

"Ken, be quiet, will you?" Birman said. "Who cares about grammar right now? Omi is a very important member of Weiss. We need him to accomplish difficult missions. We can't afford losing him or having him turn into a baby! We have to find out why he is like this!"

"Wait, wait… we're not even sure that this is Omi!" Youji said. "Maybe this is someone else…"

Everyone stared at him with a look that said "oh, please, are you that stupid?" Manx voiced it straight away. "Oh, please, are you that stupid, Kudou? This is most definitely Omi!"

Suddenly there was a tug on Youji's shirt, loosening the top button. The baby had called for attention. He smiled at Youji all of a sudden and then said in a babyish voice, "Papa…"

Silence. Youji was the first one to break it. "Did… he… just… call… _me_… papa?"

Ken, blinking, replied, "Affirmative."

They all stared each other. Youji looked terrified, Manx and Birman were throwing the looks that said "oh, so sweet" and Ken was still blinking. There was silence again as they then turned to look at baby Omi. This baby was now sucking his thumb while the other hand was playing with Youji's shirt. Youji had the urge to shudder now. He couldn't believe his friend Omi was like this and had just said the "p" word. How… unbelievable!

This time the silence was broken by the ringing of the mobile phone. It was Manx's. She took it and shoved it to Birman while her attention was already back to Omi. Birman frowned and pouted but she answered the phone anyway. She moved away to speak without disturbing the baby while Ken and Manx were already starting to cuddle baby Omi. At first Youji was annoyed but then he told himself that… "Cool! Now I can practice being a father for free!"

_ _

-----------------------------

_ _

_It smelled so sweet. Like babies. Babies and stars. Babies and magic. Babies and life._

_ _

Brad Crawford stomped his feet on the floor, impatient. He grunted. Youji put down the newspaper he was reading and gave his new partner a sharp look. "You better keep your voice down, preppy. I am not going to be the one to put them to sleep," Youji said lowly.

This time Brad did snort. He said, "I can't wait forever. When the hell are those women going to come and tell us the result of the investigation?!"

Youji snickered and put on a smart-ass face. He said, "Patience is virtue. Besides, Crawford, I didn't know you had a thing for Birman. You've become awfully close to her since she started helping you take care of Nagi because Manx was dominating Omi. Tsk, tsk. Good choice, Craw. I do can call you 'Craw', can't I? Actually, _I_ prefer Manx although Birman is also very, very beautiful. She's too mellow for my taste. But _you_ just really go for her, don't you? Blushing in front of her when she touched your hand while changing Nagi's–"

Brad's eyes became like near slits. He hissed, "If only I didn't need a friend in misery, Kudou, I would have mashed your head and mouth." 

Youji calmly said. "Temper, temper… your "son" shouldn't hear it." Before Brad could retort, Youji said, "Speaking of him, don't you think you should force him to eat a little bit more? He's so skinny. Even Omi weighs more than he does. Yet Nagi is supposedly taller than he does!"

That morning Youji found Omi as a baby, Brad also found Nagi as a baby. He freaked out, the way Youji did and since he didn't know who else to rant to, he called Manx, since he worked for Kritiker now and didn't know who else to speak to. Birman answered the phone and Brad just fired away his frantic speech about Nagi becoming a baby. Of course, everyone had been surprised. What a coincidence that Omi and Nagi both became babies at the same time. Since they were both important figures in the Kritiker organization, Manx and Birman decided to investigate the case. On the meantime, Youji and Brad were given a change of mission – instead of hunt and kill, this time was put to bed the babies, bathe them and many more.

Youji had laughed off Brad's face when he finally met the American face to face after such a long time. He had wondered what the atmosphere would be like when he met Brad. He didn't know it was going to be so funny! Brad looked exactly like him when he first found out about Omi – the "pooped" expression. 

Since then Youji and Brad decided to move in to one house. Nagi and Omi were not exactly newborn babies. They were around a year old, more or less, which meant it was time to be whiny, reckless, restless, demanding and spoilt. They needed a lot of attention and could only be done if two adults worked hand in hand to look after them. Youji and Brad couldn't care less, actually, but Manx and Birman threatened them. If they didn't take care of the two boys, the two women were going to have their heads. They were dead serious. Since Youji had the hots for Manx and Brad had even bigger hots for Birman, they complied. Because of this they became even closer and familiar with Omi and Nagi. Those babies were actually angels when they weren't crying or fighting. 

Omi and Nagi called Youji and Brad "papa". The "papas" had to introduce Omi and Nagi all over again when the two babies met. They didn't know each other. Nagi had been shy; he clung to Brad and fiercely holding on this his shirt, not wanting to look at Omi, when he and Brad came to live in what used to be Weiss' headquarter. Omi, too, had held on to Youji and refused to shake hands. Only after their respective "fathers" gave them a stern look did they shake hands. After that, though, they became inseparable. Wherever and whenever there was Omi, there was always Nagi. It seemed that the boys were meant to be friends. They were much alike and they just clicked like that.

At night, Omi and Nagi insisted that they sleep with their "fathers". Youji and Brad had to make extra spaces on their beds for Omi and Nagi to sleep in. They both had gained certain nightmares from it. Nagi peed on Brad's sheets for a couple of times while Omi's feet were much too active in his sleep that he kicked a certain precious part of Youji's body a few times during the past few nights. Not mentioning the noise they made when they woke up.

Youji and Brad couldn't continue their petty argument because then the people they had been waiting for all day long entered the room. Manx and Birman, the beautiful dynamic duo, had appeared, each holding a file of papers on their hands. Youji and Brad didn't greet them but looked up to them expectantly. 

Manx sighed. She dropped the file on the table. "Nothing. The result of the investigation is zero. No one knows why they're like this and no one seemed to have done any crimes against them that made them like this. We have a dead end." Youji reached for the files.

Birman continued for her partner, "No physicians or scientists can do anything about it! We've asked probably 30 doctors and experts on genetics and the likes but no one can explain this phenomenon and no one can cure them AT ALL! We can never save them!"

Manx and Birman looked to be on the edge of tears. Youji and Brad looked at each other, confused, not knowing of what to do (well, they had an idea of holding the women in their arms to ease off the frustration but they might get death glares then). They were used to of the babies now so they had no problem with it. Surprisingly they didn't feel too disappointed. Sure they missed the teenage Nagi and Omi but they didn't mind having the chibi ones around. They were reluctant at first but they wouldn't trade for the world the moments when they would hear the kids call them "papa" or when they snuggled up to them to sleep at night or when they looked for them whenever there was trouble or when they stared at them with those innocent blue eyes. 

Youji was the first one to realize it. He smiled and then looked up at the others. "Manx, Birman," Youji said, "I think this is time we have to let go."

Brad sighed. He had just come to the same realization. "I never thought I would be saying this but I think Kudou is right. I think it's quite fair that Nagi and Omi turned into babies. They deserved nothing less."

Birman turned to look at him. "Why?"

Brad cracked a smile. That was one of the rare smiles he gave to people. Brad said calmly, "Nagi had a terrible past. His childhood was a nightmare and he didn't live happily or normally as a teenager. Maybe this is a gift, from whoever is _up there_, to give him a second chance."

Youji nodded. "Now Omi and Nagi can enjoy life normally as a child. There will be people who love them and they can do whatever they want without any worries! Isn't that perfect? Even for us, it's perfect!"

Manx shook her head. "They still can't grow up normally! If we are going to let them have a normal life, we are going to have to find them decent parents, who can provide good education and who love them very much and who would not suffer them!"

Brad stared at her indignantly. "I am decent, I can provide good education, I love them very much and I would not suffer them!"

Birman chuckled. "Crawford, you are dreaming! _You_ want to be a parent for Nagi?"

"Why not?" Brad challenged.

"I also refuse to give Omi to another parent!" Youji said too.

Manx rolled her eyes. "You guys are missing the point! They need to grow up in a good environment! They need a father, a mother, pets, brothers and sisters… school! Not assassins!"

Youji tossed an envelope to Manx. "There. That's my resignation letter. I am quitting. I am going to raise Omi."

"I'll make one soon enough," Brad prompted.

Manx and Birman stared at them in amazement. Before they could say anything, two loud voices preceded the entrance of two tiny beings inside the room. Omi and Nagi came running; hurling themselves towards Manx and Birman. The two of them were alert enough to snatch them before they bump themselves on the women's legs and fell back. Manx grabbed Omi and Birman grabbed Nagi.

"Youji, you would never be able to raise this kid alone!" Manx said to Youji but her eyes were gazing lovingly at Omi, who had reached up to touch Manx's cheeks.

"Crawford, you're never ever going to succeed raising this kid alone," Birman at the same time told Brad but her eyes were also affectionately on Nagi's while the kid snuggled in her arms.

"You're going to have to find a babysitter while you work to provide for them! You are going to have to forget about flirting with too many women and sleeping at their homes! You need to spend a lot of time with them!" Manx said. Omi was now kissing Manx's cheeks. 

"They will be curious asking about their mothers. They will want to have dogs and cats. They will want to go here and there! They need to eat! Can you cook? Not really, right?" Birman said with a hint of laugher. Nagi was tickling her softly.

Stopping Manx and Birman from their speech, the two boys suddenly whispered, "Mama?"

_ _

-------------------------------

_ _

_Life is beautiful. That's all there is to it. All they see, all they hear, all they smell, all they sense is life. No differences. Just life._

_ _

"Omittchi!!! WAIT!!!" Nagi screamed with all his might to stop his friend (and, practically, brother) from running too fast ahead of him.

"Ah, Nagi-kun! Hurry! Hurry!" Omi excitedly said, slowing down but not stopping.

Two big hands suddenly lifted them off the grounds and throw them into the air. Then a stern voice said, "Boys, how many times do I have to tell you not to run so fast?! Omi, your foot still hurt!"

Omi pouted at his uncle. "Sorry, uncle Brad."

"But we are okay, Papa," Nagi said. 

Brad sighed. He couldn't be angry for too long to these two brats. Their big eyes and pouts always managed to undo him. He said, "Fine but no more running. Go to mama and have your lunch now." He put them back to the ground. The two boys scurried off to their mothers. "NO RUNNING!!!"

Birman had the lunch ready for the boys. She, or any of them parents, would have never even imagined of doing this… ever. If she were still an agent for Kritiker, she wouldn't believe the fact that right now she was sitting under a tree, on a picnic mat, preparing lunch for two kids, one of them her son, and two men, one of them her husband, and she was wearing a floral purple dress. It was unbelievable. She also wouldn't believe that her friend Manx was leaning on a man who was her husband, while having a conversation about their son! And she was wearing a white dress… also with floral motives! Life was just too weird.

"What's for lunch, mama?" Nagi asked as he finally got there in front of Birman. Without waiting for an answer, he took a large piece of shortcake and stuffed it in his mouth. Omi came by and did the same thing. 

"Slowly! Slowly! Oh, Nagi, look what you did to your new T-shirt! Watch out! Omi!!! The cream!!!" Too late, it fell on Omi's lap. The two boys ignored Birman's ranting and enjoyed the cake quietly. Brad came. He chuckled when he saw the panicked look on his wife's face. Birman snapped at him. Brad looked away and grunted when Birman pulled him down to help her clean up the mess. "You should've been here to help with the kids!"

"Always blaming it on me, huh?" Brad retorted as he grabbed Nagi and cleaned the mess on his T-shirt. He nudged her and whispered in her ear, "You should be grateful, darling. If I were still an assassin, you wouldn't see me doing anything like this in a million years. But for you, darling, I will do everything. I'll blush if you want me to. Well, as long as you do the things you do last night in our bed."

Birman blushed cherry red. She, too, didn't expect Brad to be such an affectionate man. Trued, the highly reformed assassin and ex-enemy had courted her nicely before they decided to get married and raise Nagi together. Up until now, she was still amazed by the display of affection from him. She couldn't believe she fell for him either. 

"Come here, Omi," Birman called. Omi obediently came to his aunt and let her clean him up.

Manx and Youji didn't notice any of this happening. Manx was saying, "I don't think sending him to England will be good. I mean, how many computer degrees do they have in the universities there? I suggest we send him to the US. Brad can teach the both of them English. They are already learning. They need good universities!"

Youji shook his head. "Manx, babe, they haven't even started kindergarten!!!"

"But there's no problem in looking ahead of time!" Manx said stubbornly.

Youji quieted her with a kiss. Manx was silenced all right. She loved his kisses too much. Smiling, Youji said, "Take it easy, will you? Didn't we agree that we would never force anything to Omi? He's still a kid. Let him enjoy it. He's going to find out his own interests when he grows up. We'll help him then. But now, we're just going to let them have fun!"

Brad heard what Youji said. He said, "Good point, Kudou. You've become smarter since you became daddy."

"Shut up, Crawford!" Youji replied. They had become good friends, of course, but those jibes could not be stopped. Manx and Birman preferred not to say anything about this. 

Nagi called for them, demanding attention again. "Papa!"

"Yeah?"

"Omi and I want to fly like birds. How do we make ourselves fly?" 

"Humans don't fly, Nagi," Brad said cautiously. "We don't have wings like birds."

Omi and Nagi looked disappointed but not for long. They grabbed another food to eat, much to Birman's dislike because they were messing the food again. Youji asked Brad if Nagi had showed any signs that he was a telekinetic or not. Brad shook his head and muttered, "Thank God." He was sensitive about Nagi's powers. He didn't want anyone to find out about Nagi's powers. He was afraid anyone would take him away and make use of his power for evil. Brad still had his oracle powers although he couldn't be bothered to sharpen it like he used to. So far as he knew, it wasn't going to happen. 

"By the way, Youji, I saw our savings book yesterday and I found out that you've put in a lot of money in it. You didn't, by any chance, rob a bank or anything, did you?" Manx asked rather suspiciously.

Youji stared at his wife huffily. "Manx! How could you?"

"Just wondering…"

Youji did have a lot of money. He was earning a lot from being the owner of a famous club. In fact, he was opening up some branches in other cities as well. Since his friend decided to get married and live abroad, he sold the club to Youji and Youji gained a lot of profits from it. Of course he was not as rich as the calculative Brad whose stocks were everywhere in the markets in the world but he earned more than enough for the three of them.

"Well, just in case… we have to be ready for everything. If someone kidnaps him, we're going to pay the ransom," Youji said. He wasn't going to let Omi suffer again just because the father wouldn't pay the ransom to release him. Youji then said dryly and jokingly at the same time, "Then again, with the way he plays football, copying Ken and all, I wouldn't be surprised if Omi injures himself. We'd need a lot of money to cover the hospital bills."

"Youji!"

Birman suddenly chuckled. "Oh, Nagi! You look like a bunny with that cream on your nose!"

Manx finally paid attention to her son. She was surprised to see Omi eating the cake chaotically. She pulled Omi to her lap and then told Youji to grab the spare clothes they brought for him. Whenever he was near his parents, Omi turned all spoilt. He wanted them to pamper him so it was no surprise when he asked Manx and Youji to feed him the soup. Nagi started whining about the same thing to Birman and Brad. 

"Okay, open your mouth," Manx instructed his son. Omi obediently opened his mouth to receive the food inside him. 

"Ewww, veggies… I don't like them!" Nagi's excalamation was heard.

At the same time, Omi caught sight of a chocolate bar, hidden behind the thermos. He suddenly closed his mouth, surprising Manx, and shoved away the spoon. The soup's bowl came tumbling down from Manx's hand and wetted her dress. Youji was already glaring at Omi who was now reaching down for the chocolate bar. Nagi saw what his best friend was trying to get and he too reached for it. On the process, he tripped his hand on a plate of onigiri, clashing it with the other plates, sending food to different directions. 

_Chocolates. It smelled of chocolate. Sweet and warm. No matter how deformed. _

The chocolate bar was caught but when the two kids turned around to smile at their parents, the four adults had "that" look. The smiles were gone. The two kids exchanged looks. They nodded in unison and in an instant ran away, screaming and giggling with chocolate bars on their little hands.

"OMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"NAGI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Oh, damn."

"Hmph. Babies."

Thus the chase to capture the scoundrels began. 

--------------------------

Safely tucked under the blankets, they would never know that the stars were falling down like rain outside in the sky. They were saying hello to their babies, asking if there were any other wishes they could granted, just as they had granted their wish to be innocent. Deep inside, in the most remote and forgotten places of the heart and mind, the babies knew they were children of the stars. 

** **

**----FINE----**

Author's Note:

Thank for those who took time to read. This is my first Weiss Kreuz fanfics. I appreciate comments and suggestions! GRAZIE!

   [1]: mailto:sangue@svengali.co.uk



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